Friday, January 11, 2013

Hello Everyone:First: Happy New Year!
Second: The news:
As mentioned in last month’s blog, I was in Israel as part of a
delegation focusing on water technologies. The trip was very interesting and
productive. I found water management in Israel quite fascinating. The country
has experienced so many different phases including mostly dry land, water
transfer/distribution, conservation, wastewater reuse and now desalination. One
problem motivating the use of desalination is the concern over hormones in the
wastewater (e.g., reduced sperm count and motility in males). Each of these
phases are very strong, and I would characterize it as “water management on steroids”. I also had the opportunity to meet with other researchers at
Technion, which may lead to some interesting collaborations. Here is a picture
of me and my colleague, Auroop Ganguly at the Hadera Desalination Plant:

The Spring Semester is starting. I am teaching two classes. (1)
The environmental section of the senior design capstone class. This year we are
focusing on “community-scale solutions for reducing phosphorus inputs to the
Charles River”. (2) The surface water quality modeling graduate class.On behalf of the Charles River Conservancy (CRC) and the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Northeastern University (NU), I would like to invite you you to attend the Third Annual Charles River Water Quality Workshop on February 5, 2013 from 8 AM - Noon at NU. Charles River Water Quality Workshops were held in 2010 and 2011 and, similar to previous years, this workshop will focus on sharing water quality data gathered by a variety of skateholders, including US EPA Region 1, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Charles River Watershed Association, and others during the 2012 season. Following the presentations, there will be time for a broader group discussion on work and experiences during 2012 and plans for the coming year. Below is additional meeting information. Please RSVP by January 30th (see RSVP info below).Location: Northeastern University Snell Library Room 90SL Date and Time: February 5, 2013 | 8 AM - NoonDirections: http://library.northeastern.edu/about/maps-and-directionsRSVP: Please RSVP by email to to patricia@thecharles.org. Be sure to include your name, title/position, organization, and phone number in your email.
Best regards,
Ferdi